Pivot

Pivot

I love words. This comes in very handy since I’m a writer! At times, random words, thoughts, and concepts pop into my brain and they get me thinking.

Today, I was pondering the word ‘pivot’ and had a revelation! Okay, maybe not a full-blown revelation but a really cool Ah-Ha moment, nonetheless.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s definition of a pivot is: revolve, rotate, spin, swing, swirl, swivel, turn, twirl, twist, and whirl.

Lately, I feel like I have been in a perpetual state of pivot. Everything is changing, moving in directions I could never have anticipated and left me with the inevitability of uncertainty. What to do? Where to go? How to keep my balance and sanity?

I found myself determining what’s working in my life (and what isn’t), changing gears (pivoting), and making new plans and goals (more pivoting) then stopping on a dime (tired of pivoting).

Spin. Rotate. Revolve. Repeat.

A new perspective was needed (I was getting dizzy). So, I decided that I am going to stop viewing pivot as a challenge and instead look at it as more of a dance – a pirouette perhaps. Pivot dancing!

So, here I am pirouetting my buns off, trying to stay upright, and obtaining some sense of balance.

The interesting thing about a pirouette is one foot needs to be firmly planted on the ground while the rest of the body is in constant motion. This combination makes the dance successful.

Grounding techniques and motion together – what a concept! Could this be how to effectively manage change?  

Since I’m a practical kind of person, I had to find a way to make sense of the spiraling, unsettling energy and keep my feet planted on the ground.

To do this, I tapped into something that I hadn’t thought about in a long time. Being a little kid. I remembered all the things I did in my childhood that gave me joy and comfort. Running free through the woods and hanging out in nature, listening to music, and my personal favorite laying down on the ground gazing at the sky and hearing the wind rustle through the leaves.

The simple act of remembering gave me the tools needed to complete my pirouette. When the spinning and swirling starts to again fling me from side to side, I close my eyes. I am again solid in my dancer’s stance. I feel calm and centered.

Let the dance begin.